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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Writing in the Sciences by Stanford University

4.9
stars
8,318 ratings

About the Course

This course teaches scientists to become more effective writers, using practical examples and exercises. Topics include: principles of good writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, peer review, grant writing, ethical issues in scientific publication, and writing for general audiences....

Top reviews

IA

Aug 25, 2020

A very helpful course. My writing has improved significantly in these 8 weeks. I highly recommend this course to everyone. Thank you Dr. Kristin Sainani and Coursera for bringing this course together.

AA

Jan 11, 2023

The best course I attain in Coursera. I struggled a lot to write my first manuscript and it took a lot of time. This course is beneficial for all scientific students. I highly recommended this course.

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226 - 250 of 2,766 Reviews for Writing in the Sciences

By Rama W

Feb 8, 2020

Superb course. Teaches you everything you need to know from basics of Grammar, style, economy of writing and so much more. Kristin does an excellent job at explaining the way things ought to be, her enthusiasm makes her a great teacher. The interviews also gave great perspective. I audited this course, but I am planning on purchasing it so that I can take it again. I recommend this to anyone in the life sciences. Kudos Stanford !!

By Mariem B H

Jan 26, 2023

Again, thanks Stanford for making such an excellent course free! Thanks Professor Krisitin! You are so far an excellent Teacher. If only I took this course long time ago.

I would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn how to write not only in sciences but in our daily life.

As a non native english, I am planning to repeat many lectures if not all of them. Professor Kristin is just a magician of words! Thanks a lot Professor!

By raghul j

Feb 17, 2024

I started casually but didn't expect the help and interest it created on the subject of scientific writing. It has synthesized a base in me to develop when writing scientific reports. The instructor explained with a lucid voice of all concepts. Thanks Kristen.The interviews were a professional, molding effort. In India, although such interviews are not common, it gave a holistic approach to scientific presentation. Thanks coursera!

By Jessica S

Apr 20, 2022

I thought I was a good writer.... now I realize that I have many opportunities to improve. I have recommended this course to colleagues and am incredibly appreciative that it is FREE! The instructor is fabulous and funny and uses varied examples and an array of stories. I have 2 MS degrees but am now pursuing a doctorate and will be better prepared to succeed because of this course- which was humbling and insightful. Thank you!

By Rasa V

Feb 23, 2021

After this course, I write an article differently - with more consideration about the clutter, punctuation, style, audience. Also, reading is easier as the author clearly defined the structure of the the scientific article. Quizzes, writing tasks and peer reviews strengthened the knowledge.

The author shared lots of her personal experience, therefore the course was practical. Thank you for making the course useful and enjoyable!

By Pamela M I

Sep 8, 2022

This is an excellent course for all learners in the sciences, especially ESL and EFL learners. Writing can be daunting; scientific writing is even more so. I have learned so much (Thank you Kristin and team), and I hope I can apply this knowledge when I tutor/coach my students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

PS: Maybe one day I will interview you in a live webinar for learning how to write in the sciences ☺️

Thanks, again!

By Bruno V

Jun 28, 2020

The course is incredible. Dr Kristin Sainani elegantly guided us throughout the art of writing in sciences. The course is essential for any scientist, independent of the expertise. I had some experience in writing scientific manuscripts, and still, I gained a lot of new practical knowledge about writing. It also inspired me to write more, and hopefully, I will be able to pass this to my students in Brazil. Highly recommend it!

By Hiu Y L

Aug 6, 2021

I loved how approachable Dr. Sainani is in this course; I feel more comfortable in learning this course since I came from a music background. The course helped me to realize how much my writing skills can be translated into sharing scientific knowledge with lay audience. I appreciate the assignments and optional demo videos - they helped me witness the writing and editing processes unfold. I'm so glad that I took this course!

By Vinay S

Feb 16, 2020

This was my first MOOC, and I loved it! I am happy to say that this was my third attempt trying to complete the course (due to time restrictions earlier), and I managed to do it this time. The course content is great, and Dr. Sainani definitely is the right person to deliver the talks. I work as an editor of research manuscripts. This course has helped me edit much better now. One word to describe this course: Enlightening!

By MD S I

Jul 12, 2022

This is an outstanding course by which every prospective researcher will be benefitted from. I have one publication as a first author and another one is under review which was submitted before enrolling on this course. Now, I have a realization that, my manuscript might have been written in a far better way, If I could learn the taught techniques of this course earlier. I wish I could come accross this course earlier !!

By Paravee O

Jan 15, 2021

An amazing course. Probably one of the best I have ever joined in Coursera. The professor is wonderful at teaching, fun and informative. The course focus more on the medical science, but it offer many tips on scientific writing in general. Also, I now feel more encouraged to write knowing that I'm not the only one struggling with these problems (e.g. passive voice, clustering, tense) haha. Thanks so much for this course.

By Andrea S

Jun 1, 2020

I really enjoyed this course. It was well structured, detailed, and covered a broad range of topics related to writing in the sciences. I found the peer review homework assignments to be the most helpful assignment type. The module covering writing for the average person was a particularly interesting exercise. It really helped impress upon me the importance of translating your work to make it accessible to more readers.

By Karen A F

Jan 7, 2019

Dr. Sainani's course is incredible! She explains everything in an exciting way, discussing various subjects pertinent to those who wish to pursue their academic career. I am ecologist and I think it is perfectly feasible to transpose the ideas presented by dra sainani to other areas of knowledge. I took more time to finish the course because I have a little difficulty with English, but I assure you: worth every minute!

By Kari D A

Oct 12, 2021

I highly recommend this course. It is informative and relevant for higher level academic professionals. The peer-reviewed assignments and quizzes are manageable and the grading policy is transparent. Deadlines can be postponed and navigation through the course is user friendly. In addition, the scientist who teaches and runs the course is knowledgeable in her field and clearly a skilled writer at a professional level.

By Özge Ç

Jun 16, 2020

An excellent and absolutely necessary course for PhD students and early science career researchers from all fields of science. Professionally planned and well-taught. I wish I had learned what this course teaches during my PhD studies. I have been away from research for a while and dearly wish to resume my career. This course was a treasure for me. Thank you Prof. Sainani. It was pleasure to have taken your course.

By Laura F

Dec 6, 2023

What I learned in this course makes me feel way more confident when writing, reading or analizing a text. It also helped me develop a scientific mindset. Now I always check the sources of the information I receive, and judge it according to the methods utilized to get it. I built the habit of looking for exaggerated conclusions, misinterpreted statistics, inconsistencies, and unefficient/incomplete study designs.

By Yi W

Jan 21, 2023

Lots of good advice! This course helped me to streamline my approach to writing: I now spend more time in the pre-writing phase, my paragraphs make more sense, and I write tidier sentences. The curriculum is broad and high-level, so it's more introductory in nature (for native English speakers) but it also serves as a good foundation if you want to go deeper on the rules of English or the writing process. Thanks.

By Raquel M

Aug 31, 2020

The course is excellent. Dr Kristin Sainani starts with valuable guidelines regarding grammatical construction and style. She guides us to writing a scientific article and submitting it for publication. Also, the course shows us how we can communicate with the lay public and social networks. This course is useful for all researchers, whether beginners or experienced. Exercices assist in learning. Congratulations!

By Katie V

Jun 4, 2022

This was the 2nd time I have taken this course and this was a much better experience! I really enjoyed the changes and the quiz questions at the end of every activity that allowed me to double check my knowledge before the graded quiz. I really enjoyed this course and I feel like I learned a lot more and will use a lot more of the information in my writing in my doctorate program. Thanks for a great course.

By Annya S

Jun 5, 2018

Wonderful critical thinking course. Having written a case report and personal statements in the past, I learned there was so much that I didn't know. This course broke writing down into goal oriented snippets and showed me what a wonderfully streamlined process it can be. I also found it lovely to be able to de-mystify the grant process as a young professional. A must course for any individual in the sciences!

By Renuka P

Jul 9, 2020

Thank you so much Dr.Kristin Sainani for this excellent course. A course covering all the topics step by step. I have started this course as a free course, as I don't know the course would be completed by me or not. But I completed the course & took the certificate only because of your pretty way of teaching. Now I want to start my career in medical writing. Thanks to Coursera also for providing this course.

By Kurnia F

Nov 8, 2021

This course is a great and amazing. I am an medical technology laboratory and this course very helpful to my job because i never received courses like this in formal school. My writing has improved significantly, this courses teach me how to edit paper, critical thinking, interviewing a scientist and writing in social media. I think everyone must try this courses. Thank you Dr. Kristin Sainani and Coursera.

By Eleonora B

Jul 12, 2022

This course gave me a lot of useful tips to improve my writing. The examples provided convinced me that scientific papers can be accurate but also interesting and enjoyable to read. The homework helped me realize that I often make "bad" writer's mistakes by comparing my answers to the example ones, so now I know exactly what to work on. I'll keep these writing tips in mind when I'll write my first paper.

By Antonio T

Apr 18, 2019

This course should be a "must" for any PhD students or prospective researchers. It gives a clear method for writing scientific research with good examples, and helps to "clear the fog" we (students) usually have when drafting our first article. It also provide a guide on how to manage workload (and writing techniques) to avoid frequent mistakes among young writers. I wish I had known this course earlier!

By Danijela P

Jun 24, 2020

Scientific writing seems so easy and simple when Dr. Kristin Sainani speaks about it! When you try it yourself, of course, it's not quite like that ... at least in the beginning :) This course allowed me to get one step (and not a small one!) closer to that goal. It helped me structure the topic in my head and make things simpler and easier - in thoughts and sentences. I am infinitely grateful for that!